The present invention is directed to puzzles, and more particularly to the type of puzzle having an array of movable elements capable of being positioned and arranged in a number of configurations. More specifically the invention provides sound-producing apparatus in conjunction with the puzzle capable of being activated by the movable elements to produce a tone that identifies each movable element solely by the sound it causes the sound-producing apparatus to produce.
Among the wide variety of puzzles available to allow one to while away his or her time, one has enjoyed relatively continuous popularity over the years, and has been the subject of a variety of modifications. This one such type of puzzle is formed from a frame structure that includes a support surface upon which a plurality of substantially square tiles are moved from one location to another, to arrange the tiles in predetermined arrays according to visual indicia identifying the tiles. An example of such a puzzle can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,487.
Typically puzzles of the foregoing type are provided with indicia of one type or another identifying each tile, such as, for example, numbering each tile 1-15. The puzzle is used by moving the tiles from one (usually disoriented) configuration to another dictated in some logical fashion by the identifying indicia. This, it can be seen, limits the number of useful logical, configurations. Puzzles of this type, i.e., those with strong visual cues, are easy to master and quickly lose their appeal. Further, insofar as is known, no such puzzle of this type has the capability of identifying the tiles by audio means rather than visual means.